Kitty Simmonds was a spirited 10-year old girl, growing up in London’s east end. She grew up with family and friends, and was living a normal childhood life. When the war came, that all changed; entire schools and neighbourhoods were evacuated to the countryside. Kitty was not happy about leaving; she did want to be away from her mother and uncle. When she arrived in a small village called Much Hadam, her unhappiness only grew: she was stunned at the hardships she had to endure from her foster parents as she struggled to maintain her Jewish identity in what was an alien world to her. Kitty ended up running away, back to her mother and the comfort of home. She also returned to the Battle of Britain, and she had to endure the air raids and sirens and nights in the Tube along with her fellow Londoners. Kitty grew up at the same time, taking a job and celebrating VE Day when the time came.
Kitty visited Mr. Masters’ History 10 class in May 2019, alongside her husband Ralph. The two of them shared Kitty’s wartime memoirs. We thank the Memory Project for facilitating this presentation.
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